We need to talk about how the Western press covers the struggle of Russia against COVID-19. It is very regrettable, but it seems that many media and scribblers cheer for the virus and against the Russians.

It would seem that in such an emergency they should have had the tact for some time to put aside the tomahawk of the information war. But, alas, not enough. On the contrary, the poison in the materials increased.

Here's what on Tuesday morning a Google search returned a query Russian response to COVID-19 (“Russian response to COVID-19”):

  • “Putin is distancing himself from the outbreak of the virus in Russia. But it could still be politically damaging ”(CNBC);
  • "The situation with coronavirus in Russia is taking a serious turn, and Putin no longer exudes confidence" (CNN);
  • “All hospitals are full”: the Russian healthcare system can barely cope with the growing number of cases of COVID-19 ”(US state Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty *);
  • “Traffic jams from ambulances, doctors without protection, and ambiguous signals from Putin: an inside look at Russia's chaotic response to the coronavirus pandemic” (Business Insider).

The list is not limited to this, but you have probably already grasped the essence: we have before us a selection of rubbish, nonsense and nonsense. Here, it’s not so much the inability to see the forest behind the trees, as the desire to cut down everything under the root, if only the one in whom you see your opponent does not stock up on wood.

The Russian response to coronavirus, frankly speaking, is imperfect. But at the moment, the country suffers from a pandemic much less than Britain or America, and it seems that the American and British press are very upset.

Here are the statistics for COVID-19. Again, on Tuesday morning (according to Johns Hopkins University, Worldometer and UK reports).

In total, tests were conducted: USA - 4.0 million, Russia - 2.1 million, Great Britain - 0.33 million.

Total cases of the disease: USA - 788 thousand, Great Britain - 125 thousand, Russia - 52 thousand.

Total fatalities: USA - 42 518, Great Britain - 16 509, Russia - 456.

It should also be noted: there is nothing that would indicate Russia's underestimation of its statistics. Needless to say, otherwise the Anglo-American press would have long sought out such evidence and trumpeted it around the world.

Moreover, Russia's mortality rates are generally similar to those of its large eastern European states (Poland - 385, Ukraine - 161), but the scale of testing varies significantly. Russia conducted more than 2 million tests, Poland - a little less than 215 thousand, and Ukraine - 61 997. If there really is any kind of concealment or distortion of information to the east of the Elbe, then this story seems to be more likely to be about Kiev or Warsaw, and not about Moscow.

But Ukraine is a satellite state of the United States, and in a critical vein, the Western media usually do not talk about it: Ukrainian elites, “maybe bitches, but our bitches,” and all that. Also in the 1990s, when the Kremlin looked at Washington forcibly, they spoke generally about Yeltsin’s Russia. Millions looked at the sufferings, hardships, poverty and deplorable existence of millions of people through the fingers, the importance of these topics was diminished, attention was not paid to them, except to achieve a dramatic, comic or instructive effect.

Modern Russia is not lying at the feet of Uncle Sam - and the discontent of the American and British media is turned on at full capacity.

Take a look at the air force. At the weekend, the British state-owned broadcasting company complained that Russians were not giving public ovations to healthcare workers. Such empty, superficial, demonstrative actions in England suddenly became fashionable, despite the fact that in the recent elections in the country the party won by a large margin, which for almost a decade cut off medicine financing. Air Force Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg told the British on the air: there is no “culture of honoring national heroes” in Russia, implying that only Vladimir Putin can be in this sacred space. The apathetic, listless, monotonous English speech of the reporter seemed to hint that at any moment he risks losing consciousness.

Russians do not go out to the streets to applaud doctors, because they do not like senseless, stupid formalities. This is not the people who are switching from stiff English coldness to moaning according to Princess Diana. Simply put, the Russians do not like shallow window dressing.

On the same weekend, the same reporter appeared on the BBC, saying that "health care is under pressure." But somehow I didn’t remember about my native Albion, where the trade unions say that due to the lack of personal protective equipment, doctors may refuse to work. No, he told the British how supposedly terrible it was in Russia. In a country where six deadly tests have been conducted more than six, and the death rate from COVID-19 is less than three percent of the UK.

Steve Rosenberg could tell his audience this unpleasant truth. But he decided not to tell - perhaps out of prudence. In the end, imagine the confusion and amazement of the audience and listeners of the Air Force, they suddenly find out that Russia is not a real Mordor, an edge of darkness and danger, where people are afraid to go in and turn their eyes!

The air force is not interested in covering Russia objectively. Its task is rather to “manage the discourse” and to impress upon the British that this huge European country outside the EU always has something bad in mind.

And this concerns not only the Air Force. The American brothers in The New York Times also prostrated themselves before the altar of Edward Burneys (one of the world's largest PR specialists. - RT ). Here is what Moscow correspondent for the newspaper Anton Troyanovsky wrote on Saturday: “Excellent and interesting material is Catherine Bennhold and the caption for the photo, which seems amazing in Moscow:“ Testing teams, often consisting of medical students, are accompanied by the police to cheer the public. ”

Ok, let's compare the statistics again. And again on Tuesday morning.

In total, tests were conducted: Russia - 2.1 million, Germany - 1.7 million.

Total cases: Germany - 141 thousand, Russia - 52 thousand

Total fatalities: Germany - 4404, Russia - 456.

Does Anton Troyanovsky cover the remarkable success of Russia in comparison with Germany? No. Instead, his latest article came out with the headline: "In the captivity of a pandemic in Russia, the old scourge — drunkenness — has sharply worsened." The subtitle reads: “The widespread false belief that alcohol will protect the drinker from the coronavirus, contributes to increased sales of alcohol and family violence.”

As journalist Johnny Tickle, working in Moscow, notes, Troyanovsky’s article is complete rubbish. In fact, "in the first week of April (from March 30 to April 5), vodka sales decreased by 41% compared to the first week of the previous month, beer sales decreased by 26%," Tickle writes. And by the way, these days Russians drink less alcohol than Germans or French, is another noteworthy circumstance that the New York Times ignores.

The newspaper continued its line on Monday, writing on Twitter that "Komi, a remote Russian region, is almost as large as California, but only with a handful of hospitals, most of which are dilapidated, is facing a serious health crisis." The Komi Republic may be similar to California, but the population corresponds to the state of Delaware (about 900 thousand people). It’s the same as looking at the territory, comparing Greenland with Mexico, although the population there is like in Andorra. And one more thing: guess what The New York Times decided to illustrate its propaganda? Photo of a frozen cemetery. RT presenter Oksana Boyko noted: “It is assumed: we will assume that all this is the grave of the victims of COVID-19? What kind of manipulation is this? ”

Back to the first four headings on Google. Three of them are predictably built around Putin, because his one name is guaranteed clickbait. They all rely on the idea that the Russian response to COVID-19 is somehow harming the president. Perhaps this is a bit of truth - from the point of view of the economy. If the standard of living in Russia falls drastically, the government is likely to become unpopular.

However, this justified perspective does not suit the Anglo-American press. She is pushing some kind of wild line, built on the fact that Putin allegedly disappeared or resigned. “Don't panic, but the Kremlin seems to be posting videos of Putin’s old meetings, passing them off as recent.” On April 7, The Guardian journalist Sean Walker wrote on Twitter. On the same day, Putin held a live conference. Moreover, the day before he had negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Walker could find out all this by checking the Kremlin website.

A few days later, on April 16, a bizarre propaganda article appeared in Politico, entitled "Mortality from the coronavirus is increasing, and Putin is being kept in the background."

The same week that this material appeared in Politico, Putin had online conferences on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. In accordance with the rules of social distance introduced in Russia, the president works from home. From there, he called up with Emmanuel Macron (France), Xi Jinping (China) and others. And on Sunday, even sitting by the fireplace, he congratulated the Russians on Easter.

In other words, it’s hard not to notice Putin now. But Politico chose to promote misinformation.

The American and British media have their own concerns. We can talk about the struggle of American governors and mayors with the Trump White House over measures taken in connection with the coronavirus. Or about the immoral preservation of sanctions against poor countries such as Iran and Venezuela during a global pandemic.

But instead, their fire is directed at Russia, a country that - whether by chance, naturally or not - holds the blow of today's disaster better than any other leading European power. And the thought of the bias of a “free and fair” press begs itself.

* Media recognized as a foreign agent by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated 05.12.2017.

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.